High-resolution Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Human Subcortex In Vivo and Postmortem

Summary

Here we present a protocol to determine the minimum number images that needed to be registered and averaged to resolve subcortical structures and test whether the individual layers of the LGN could be resolved in the absence of physiological noise.

Abstract

The focus of this study was to test the resolution limits of structural MRI of a postmortem brain compared to living human brains. The resolution of structural MRI in vivo is ultimately limited by physiological noise, including pulsation, respiration and head movement. Although imaging hardware continues to improve, it is still difficult to resolve structures on the millimeter scale. For example, the primary visual sensory pathways synapse at the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), a visual relay and control nucleus in the thalamus that normally is organized into six interleaved monocular layers. Neuroimaging studies have not been able to reliably distinguish these layers due their small size that are less than 1 mm thick.

The resolving limit of structural MRI, in a postmortem brain was tested using multiple images averaged over a long duration (~24 h). The purpose was to test whether it was possible to resolve the individual layers of the LGN in the absence of physiological noise. A proton density (PD)¹ weighted pulse sequence was used with varying resolution and other parameters to determine the minimum number of images necessary to be registered and averaged to reliably distinguish the LGN and other subcortical regions. The results were also compared to images acquired in living human brains. In vivo subjects were scanned in order to determine the additional effects of physiological noise on the minimum number of PD scans needed to differentiate subcortical structures, useful in clinical applications.

Introduction

The purpose of this research was to test the resolution limits of structural MRI in the absence of physiological noise. Proton density (PD) weighted images were acquired in a postmortem brain over a long duration (two ~24 hr sessions) to determine the minimum number of images that needed to be registered and averaged to resolve the subcortical structures. For comparison, PD weighted images were also acquired in living humans over a number of sessions. In particular, the objective was to ascertain whether it would be possible in a best-case scenario to resolve all six individual layers of the human LGN, which are approximately 1 mm thick (Figure 1).

Protocol

1. Participant and Postmortem Brain Set-Up

NOTE: All images were acquired using a 3 T MRI scanner with a 32-channel head coil and all MRI scanning was performed at RT, approximately 20 °C. All participants were right handed and gave written informed consent. Each participant was in good health with no history of neurological disorders. The experimental protocol was approved and follows the guidelines of York University Human Participants Review Committee.

1. Ask each participant fill out and sign a patient consent form that details MRI safety guidelines and the neuro-imaging protocol.
2. For each participant, place earplugs in each ear and ....

Results

Once the subcortex is prescribed within the thalamus, PD weighted images are collected within the slice selection box (Figure 4). The SNR improved by increasing the number of averages in both postmortem and in vivo scans. To determine image quality, the SNR from different scan averages was compared by dividing the signal of the mean brain region by the standard deviation in some area outside the brain. The SNR was calculated as SNR = 0.655 * µ_tissue/σ_air

Discussion

This study describes an optimized protocol in acquisition and analysis technique in order to obtain high-resolution PD weighted images of subcortical regions. A number of scanning parameters were tested and modified with the most significant ones pertaining to matrix size, voxel size, and bandwidth to increase the SNR and decrease the number of acquisitions, a critical step in being able to determine high-resolution subcortical structures. In conjunction with finding the optimal parameters within living humans, this rese.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Magnetom Trio 3T  MRI	Siemens (Erlangen, Germany).
Vacuum cushion hand	Siemens	Mat No: 4765454	Manufactured by: Johannes-Stark-Stk. 8 D-92224 Amberg